Psalms 141:2 Prayer like incense
Revelations 8:3-4 incense
Prayer rises to God
Prayer is not a means of trying to force God or to put his hands behind his back until he yields to our will. A clear example of this is when the Jews continually cried for flesh, and he gave them until it came out of there nostrils.
Psalms 106:16-15

Prayer is very personal and very private.
This is an interesting point especially when you consider the spiritual and religious climate in which this teaching comes.
From Jewish understanding of worship there are different types of Prayer, both public and ceremonial, and then there is the personal private prayer. This kind of prayer is favoured by God more than the collective prayer.
This is a bold statement which I intend to support through the testimony of the scriptures.
Jesus Himself Began to give the Disciples advice concerning prayer.
Matthew 6:5-8
Another question is Why?
I believe it was because the Pharisees and Sadducees were insincere with there Prayer.
They were accused of using it to show off there spirituality.
They were even driven by Covetousness as they would make long prayers in widows houses, Jesus even uses the word pretence, and words like Hypocrites.
Matthew 23:14

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Mark 12:40
40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Apart from Jewish blessing and benedictions, I cannot find one place in scripture where Jesus prayed communally.

It takes more faith to pray in secret because there is noone to support you.

Prays a stones throw away
Matthew 26:36-43
36Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the
disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." 37And He took with Him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply
distressed. 38Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to
death. Stay here and watch with Me."
39He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but
as You will."
40Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,
"What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41Watch and pray, lest you enter
into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
42Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if
this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." 43And
He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

Jesus went away three times, why didn't he just pray with them and have a community prayer with prayer points.
Why didn't they start shouting together and binding the devil?

Mark 1:35 (NKJV)
35Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Luke 6:12 (NKJV)
12Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Matthew 14:23 (NKJV)
23And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Luke 5:16
16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Luke 9:18 (NKJV)
18And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

Peter was on his rooftop alone praying when the Lord appeared to him in a vision.
Acts 10:9-18

Paul was praying after he saw the vision of God and was chucked off his horse
Acts 9:10-11

Hannah Prayed alone and even Eli could not understand her.

There is an effective Public Prayer that is general, and the benefits are general
Then there is a more intimate personal prayer.
What then is the main point of this teaching on Prayer
" Praying is to God and not men, so we should not seek affirmation from men, Jesus main criticism of the Pharisees is that they loved the praises of men more than God.
" It take true faith to pray in private, because know one can commend you but God.
" This teaching also challenges, praying with a prayer MC or prayer coordinator, and having prayer points. Whenever there is record of many praying it was not coordinated by one person, starting and stopping.
" As prayer is petition, we do not have the right to decree things.
The one to whom the person is petitioning, is always greater than the one with the petition.
" If there ever was a point system for the most valuable prayer, I believe it would be the one that prays for long sessions in Private.
" Another reason is to dissuade religious people who would not say boo, in public but in the church they are the loudest, and most demonstrative.

The Good Man's Prayer
1 Pet 3:10-12 (TEB) As the Scripture says, "Whoever wants to enjoy life and wishes to see good times, must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the Lord keeps his eyes on the righteous and always listens to their prayers; but he turns against those who do evil."
1 Pet 3:12 (NIV) "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
John 11:41-42 (NIV) ...Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they might believe that you sent me."
John 9:31 (NIV) [The just healed blind man] "We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will."
Ps 66:16-20 (NIV) Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
James 5:13-16 (Phi) If any of you is in trouble let him pray. If anyone is flourishing let him sing praises to God. If anyone is ill he should send for the church elders. They should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord's name. Believing prayer will save the sick man; the Lord will restore him and any sins that he has committed will be forgiven. You should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and praying for each other, so that you may be healed. Tremendous power is available through a good man's earnest prayer.
James 5:16-18 (NEB) ...A good man's prayer is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man with human frailties like our own; and when he prayed in earnest that there should be no rain, not a drop fell on the land for three years and a half; then he prayed again, and down came the rain and the land bore crops once more.
1 Jn 3:21-22 (Phi) And if, dear friends of mine, our conscience no longer accuses us, we may have the utmost confidence in God's presence. We receive whatever we ask for, because we are obeying his orders and following his wishes.
2 Cor 3:5(NAS) Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.
Php 3:9 (TCN) Any righteousness that I have being, not the righteousness that results from Law, but the righteousness which comes through faith in Christ--the righteousness which is derived from God and is founded on faith. (Rom 10:3)
Gal 2:15-16 (TCN) ...Know that no one is pronounced righteous [good] as the result of obedience to Law, but only through faith in Christ Jesus. So we place our faith in Christ Jesus, in order that we might be pronounced righteous, as the result of faith in Christ, and not of obedience to Law...
Humble Prayer
Luke 18:9-14 (Phi) Then he [Jesus] gave this illustration to certain people who were confident of their own goodness and looked down on others. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one was a Pharisee, the other was a tax-collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed like this with himself, 'O God, I do thank thee that I am not like the rest of mankind, greedy, dishonest, impure, or even like that tax-collector over there. I fast twice every week; I give away a tenth-part of all my income.' But the tax-collector stood in a distant corner, scarcely daring to look up to Heaven, and with a gesture of despair, said, "God, have mercy on a sinner like me.' I assure you that he was the man who went home justified in God's sight, rather than the other one. For everyone who sets himself up as somebody will become a nobody, and the man who makes himself nobody will become somebody.
Ezra 9:5-6 (NRS) At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, and said, "O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens."
2 Chr 7:13-14 (NIV) "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locust to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
James 4:2-5,7-10 (Phi) ...You don't get what you want because you don't ask God for it. And when you do ask he doesn't give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit--you only want to satisfy your own desires. You are like unfaithful wives, never realizing that to be the world's lover means becoming the enemy of God! Anyone who chooses to be the world's friend is thereby making himself God's enemy. Or do you think what the Scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality? ...Be humble then before God... You are sinners: get your hands clean again. Your loyalty is divided: get your hearts made true once more. You should be deeply sorry, you should be grieved, you should even be in tears. Your laughter will have to become mourning, your high spirits will have to become dejection. You must humble yourself in the sight of the Lord before he will lift you up.
On Posture...
Ps 95:6 (NIV) Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Rom 14:11 (NIV) ..."Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God."
Acts 21:5 (NIV) ...and there on the beach we knelt to pray.
Ps 123:1 (NIV) I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.
John 11:41 (NAS) ...Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me."
John 17:1 (NRS) After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father..."
Ps 134:2 (NIV) Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
Ps 63:4 (NIV) I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
1 Tim 2:1,8 (NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone... I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer...

The Difference Between The "Prayer Of Faith" and "Thy Will Be Done"
Mark 11:24-25 (NIV) "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
John 14:12-14 (TEB) "I tell you the truth: whoever believes in me will do the works I do--yes, he will do even greater ones, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it."
" Commentary On Mark 11:24 & John 14:14 by C.S. Lewis:
"How are these astonishing promises to be reconciled:
" (a) With the observed facts?
" (b) With the prayer in Gethsemane, and (as a result of that prayer) the universally accepted view that we should ask everything with a reservation, 'if it be Thy will'?"
Mat 26:39 (NIV) [Jesus in Gethsemane] "Yet not as I will, but as you will..."
James 4:15-16 (Jer) The most you should ever say is: "If it is the Lord's will, we shall still be alive to do this or that." But how proud and sure of yourselves you are. Pride of this kind is always wicked.
"As regards (a) no evasion is possible. Every war, every famine or plague, almost every death-bed, is the monument to a petition that was not granted... They have sought and not been granted. They have knocked and the door has not been opened."
"But (b), though much less often mentioned, is surely an equal difficulty. How is it possible at one and the same moment to have perfect faith... that you will get what you ask... and yet also prepare yourself submissively in advance for a possible refusal? If refusal is possible, how can you have simultaneously a perfect confidence that what you ask for will not be refused? If you have that confidence, how can you take refusal into account at all?"
"I'm not asking why our petitions are so often refused. Anyone can see in general that this must be so. In our ignorance we ask what is not good for us or for others, or not even intrinsically possible. Or again, to grant one man's prayer involves refusing another's. The real problem is... not why refusal is so frequent, but why the opposite result is so lavishly promised?"
"1) These Scriptures are the worst possible place at which to begin Christian instruction... You remember what happened when the Widow started Huck Finn off with the idea he could get what he wanted by praying for it. He tried the experiment and then, not unnaturally, never gave Christianity a second thought. We had better not talk of the prayer of faith as "elementary". It is a truth for very advanced pupils indeed. It is a coping stone, not a foundation. For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait."
James 4:3 (NIV) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
"2) We must not encourage in ourselves or others any tendency to work up a subjective state which, if we succeeded, we should describe as "faith", with the idea that this will somehow insure the granting of our prayer. We have probably all done this as children. But the state of mind which desperate desire working on a strong imagination can manufacture is not faith in the Christian sense. It is a feat of psychological gymnastics."
"How or why does such faith occur sometimes, but not always, even in the perfect petitioner? My own idea is that it occurs only when the one who prays does so as God's fellow-worker, demanding what is needed for the joint work. It is the prophet's, the apostle's, the missionary's, the healer's prayer that is made with this confidence and finds the confidence justified by the event... The colleague of God is so united with him at certain moments that something of the divine foreknowledge enters his mind. Hence his faith is the "evidence"--that is, the evidentness, the obviousness--of things not seen."
1 Jn 5:14-15 (Phi) We have such confidence in him that we are certain that he hears every request that is made in accord with his own plan. And since we know that he invariably gives attention to our prayers, whatever they are, we can be quite sure that what we have asked for is already ours.
"A far inferior degree of faith is, I hope, acceptable to God. Even the kind that says "Help thou my unbelief" may make way for a miracle..."
"As the friend is above the servant, the servant is above the suitor, the man praying on his own behalf. It is no sin to be a suitor. Our Lord descends into being a suitor, of praying on His own behalf, in Gethsemane. But when He does so--the certitude about his Father's will is apparently withdrawn."
John 15:14-17 (Jer) "You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learned from my Father. You did not choose me; no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name."
John 15:7-8 (NIV) "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

The Lord's Prayer

Luke 11:1 (NIV) One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
The Lord's Example Prayer
" In this study we discuss insights into the prayer outline (in ALL CAPs) Jesus gives us. Rather than racing through this by rote, let us meditate on each element so that we might pray with understanding (1 Cor 14:15). As Larry Lea put it, the idea is to pray through the Lord's prayer "r-e-a-l s-l-o-w". To begin, spend five or ten minutes on each phrase, letting each steep and soak in. Let the Holy Spirit reveal other Scriptures (beyond these listed here to get you started) that apply to each phrase, and meditate on the meaning and application in your life each day.
Mat 6:9-13 (NIV) "THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD PRAY: (Phi) "PRAY THEN LIKE THIS--
(KJV) OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, (Phi) OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
Gal 4:6 (NIV) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out "Abba, Father".
1 Pet 1:23 (NIV) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Heb 12:5-7 (NKJ) And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
1 Pet 1:17 (NIV) Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
1 Jn 2:29-3:3 (Phi) You all know that God is really good. You may be just as sure that the man who leads a really good life is a true child of God. Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called "children of God"--and that is not just what we are called, but what we ARE... This explains why the world will no more recognize us than it recognized Christ... Here, and now, my dear friends, we ARE God's children. We don't know what we shall become in the future. We only know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is! Everyone who has at heart a hope like this keeps himself pure, as Christ is pure.
Eph 3:14 (NIV) For this reason I kneel before the Father...
(KJV) HALLOWED BE THY NAME. (Phi) MAY YOUR NAME BE HONORED;
" Many find it useful to meditate on God's nature as revealed in adjectives associated with His name in Hebrew.
SHALOM Peace/Rest/Contentment Is 53:5, Hb 4:9-10, Jn 14:27, Plp 4:7, Cl 1:20-22ZIDKENU Righteousness/Perfection 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Cor 1:30, Rom 1:17M'KADDESH Sanctifies/Purifies 1 Cor 6:9-11, 1 Thes 5:23, Rom 8:29SHEMA Is There Ex 3:13-15, Ez 48:35b, Ep 2:21-22, Hb 13:5bROPHE Heals 1 Pet 2:24, Rom 8:2, Gal 3:13, Col 2:13-14YIRA Who Sees/Provides 2 Chr 16:9a, Gen 22:14, Ps 34:15-18NISSI Banner/Captain Ex 17:15, Jn 12:32, Is 11:10, 2Co 2:14a, So 2:4 ROHI Shepherd/Companion/Friend Prov 18:24b, Ps 23, 1 Pet 2:25YESHUA Jesus/Salvation Ex 15:2, Is 12:2, Mt 1:21, Ac 4:12, Pr 30:4Prov 18:10 (NIV) The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.
Rom 10:13 (NKJ) For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
(KJV) THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Luke 17:21 (KJV) "...the kingdom of God is within you."
Rom 14:17 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
John 4:34 (NIV) "My food", said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me..."
Mat 26:39,42 (NIV) "...Yet not as I will, but as you will... May your will be done."
Mark 3:35 (NAS) "For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."
Eph 5:10,17 (NIV) ...find out what pleases the Lord... understand what the Lord's will is.
Mat 16:19 (Phi) "...whatever you forbid on earth will be what is forbidden in Heaven and whatever you permit on earth will be what is permitted in Heaven!"
" C.S. Lewis: "Thy will be done, by me now!"
(KJV) GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD, (Phi) GIVE US EACH DAY THE BREAD WE NEED FOR THE DAY,
Prov 30:8 (NIV) Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty or riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Ex 16:14-20 (NIV) When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" ["Manna", in Hebrew] For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs...' No-one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.
John 6:32-35 (NAS) Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
Phil 4:6-7 (Phi) Don't worry about anything whatever; whenever you pray tell God every detail of your needs in thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
(KJV) AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS. (TEB) FORGIVE US THE WRONGS WE HAVE DONE, AS WE FORGIVE THE WRONGS OTHERS HAVE DONE US.
Luke 11:4 (NAS) And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
Luke 11:4 (Phi) And forgive us our failures, for we forgive everyone who fails us.
Mark 11:25 (NAS) "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.
Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Eph 4:32 (NAS) Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Col 3:13 (NKJ) ...bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
(KJV) AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL: (Phi) KEEP US CLEAR OF TEMPTATION, (Jer) BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE.
Luke 22:40 (NIV) ..."Pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Eph 6:11-17 (NIV) Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes... Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
2 Thes 3:3 (NIV) But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Tim 4:18 (NAS) The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
(KJV, only) FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER."
1 Chr 29:11 (NIV) "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all."
1 Cor 4:20 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
Eph 6:10 (NIV) Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Ps 145:10-13 (NIV) All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations...
Isa 42:8 (NAS) I am the Lord, that is My name! I will not give My glory to another...
Benediction
Jude 1:20 (NIV) But you, dear friends, build yourself up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
Eph 6:18 (Jer) Pray all the time, asking for what you need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion. Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all the saints.
Rom 8:26-27 (Phi) The Spirit... also helps us in our present limitations. For example, we do not know how to pray worthily, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonizing longings which cannot find words. He who knows the heart's secrets understands the Spirit's intention as he prays according to God's will for those who love him.
Acts 2:42 (NIV) They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 6:4 (KJV) But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
1 Thes 5:17,19 (Phi) Never stop praying... Never damp the fire of the Spirit.
Deut 4:7 (NIV) ...The Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him...